Duh! This news releaselooks like an afterthought by the organizers of recent USGBC Greenbuild International Conference and Expo held in Boston November 19 – 21. The release, dated November 24, 2008, looks forward to the Conference which ended three days earlier. Too bad, because the news content is interesting. Attendees at this year’s Greenbuild can assuage their guilt over carbon emissions from their travel and energy used at the conference. Enterprise Green Communities, which sponsors … [Read more...]
Green Building Programs In USA
November 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Did you know that there are over 90 green building programs in the USA? Or that the residential buildings use more energy than the automotive sector? Here’s a video that talks briefly about these issues and makes the point that green building, particularly in the residential sector, can make a huge difference to America’s energy consumption. I’ve talked about LEED and the NAHB programs in previous postings, and I’ll get into some others that are now emerging in the … [Read more...]
NAHB National Green Building Standard: Not Here Yet
November 13, 2008 By Leave a Comment
A clarification here for anyone reading Floor Covering Weekly's October 13 2008 supplement "The Green Guide." A story on page 12 suggests the National Home Builders' Association Model Green Building Guide has already been declared a national standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The story says, "At the 2008 International Builders show, the NAHB launched its biggest initiative to date: the National Green Building Standard (NGBS), a joint effort of the NAHB and the International … [Read more...]
Green Building Councils Overreach Mandate
October 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment
As a vendor of a building material certified by the FSC. BuildDirect qualifies according toFSC rules to advertise the product (Kontiki Vifah Eucalyptus Deck Tile) with the FSC logo and name. BuildDirect satisfies all the requirements for FSC chain of custody regulations for using the FSC logo in its advertising, and the folks at FSC have given the green light to BuildDirect to promote its product. The rub comes from the CaGBC who says that a purchaser of the product from BuildDirect can’t … [Read more...]
LEED and FSC: Too Close for Comfort
October 30, 2008 By 1 Comment
LEED is currently the best known acronym in the green building industry. As a branding success, its meteoric rise is nothing if not phenomenal. What does it stand for? Unless you’re a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP), you probably can’t remember (and don’t care) if it stands for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design or if it’s the other way around, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (it’s the latter). The important thing is that it’s the major certification needed … [Read more...]
Sustainable Forest Certifications in North America
October 23, 2008 By 1 Comment
North American sustainable forestry certifications are outlined in an excellent article in January 2008 issue of Environmental Building News. You need a subscription to read it so I’ll render a précis here. Among others, the major certification organizations operating in North America are: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC); Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI); American Tree Farm System (ATFS); and Canadian Standards Association (CSA). FSC is a sprawling international not-for-profit with … [Read more...]
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